Florence art-history semester abroad program set to be launched this fall

The College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Art will launch an art-history semester abroad program to Florence, Italy, this fall.

Students will take six credits of art history, six credits of Italian language and three credits of art restoration.

The program builds upon two existing School of Art studios in Florence: a summer program and a sophomore spring studio. As with those programs, classes are taught largely by WUSTL faculty and are held in the School of Art’s Florence facility, with frequent trips to local museums and churches.

William Wallace, Ph.D., the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History and chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology in Arts & Sciences, will teach both art history courses: an introduction to the Italian Renaissance and a seminar on Michelangelo.

“This is an incredible opportunity for students to study in the heart of the city that gave birth to the Italian Renaissance,” said Wallace, an internationally recognized expert on Michelangelo and his contemporaries.

“I can’t imagine anything more exciting.”

The restoration course will be taught by Bettina Schindler, a Florence-based art restorer who works with several local museums. Italian classes are coordinated through the Centro Fiorenza, a local language school.

Katerina Papageorgio, assistant dean and director of overseas programs in School of Art, noted that enrollment, though limited to 20 students, is open to all junior and senior students in Arts & Sciences who have completed at least one semester of “Introduction to Western Art” or equivalent, and to sophomore School of Art students.

Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and at least one semester of introductory Italian. Applicants are also required to take a one-credit seminar covering such topics as passports, visas, Italian culture and customs, money issues, health care and local travel.

Costs — tuition, housing, food and supplies — are about the same as study in St. Louis, plus travel expenses. Students who are receiving financial aid will be eligible for aid based on the projected costs of this program.

Applicants should contact the office of Overseas Programs at 935-5958 or overseas@wustl.edu. School of Art and non-University applicants should contact Papageorgio at 935-4643 or cpapageo@art.wustl.edu.